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Can I appeal a judge's decision in a denial of a poverty affidavit
Anonymous2 views3 answers
i went to magistrate court with a landlord trying to evict me. I had code enforement expect home and they found some much wrong with the home it should be condemed. I was sent a letter of judges decision that they would deduct only 1500 for repairs and we are to pay 2895 and move in 7 days. i filed and appealed to superior court but you have to file at the magistrate court and they then sends it over to superior. I was denied a poverty affidavit by the judge i appealed from magistate court. i was called by phone letting me know he denied my request and to pay fees when supeior court ask for them.
This is an issue that most states deal with. It may be that the court found you didn't qualify for help, but you might want to start at the clerk's office and ask what the next step is. Ordinarily in some states you can make a motion to renew or reargue saying that they missed some important information. I would suggest that if you don't think you make too much to qualify, that you start with the clerk's office for information about the next step. You can also try to contact your local bar association to see if you can find a pro bono attorney who would be willing to help you. Best of luck to you.
You are kind of in a box at this point--if you want to proceed with appealing the judgment, you'll need to come up with the filing fees. Clearly, the judge's office saw something to indicate your pauper's affidavit was not in order or didn't stand to reason.
Which court is your case currently pending in -- superior or magistrate? Also, what was the basis for the rejection of the affidavit -- do you possibly make too much money? If superior court, you could try filing the pauper's affidavit again; otherwise, you may have to try getting around the magistrate court judge by finding a creative way to get the affidavit approved or file with the superior court an additional appeal of the affidavit issue. However, you will need to decide whether it is really worth the time and trouble of appealing the pauper's affidavit issue or just find the money and pay fees.
